PLANTAR FASCIITIS: Heel pain have you on the sidelines?

If you’re a runner, chances are you may experience something called plantar fasciitis.  It’s a pesky and painful condition that’s not the end of the world, but it can certainly slow you down if left untreated.  Here’s how you can recognize it:

• Sharp or burning pain on the underside of the heel
• Heel pain after getting out of bed, while climbing stairs or when standing on tiptoe
• Heel pain from standing for long periods, or when getting up from a chair
• heel pain during or after running, especially during push-off

Plantar fasciitis (PLAN-tur fas-e-I-tis) is an inflammation of the plantar fascia – a tough, leathery sheath that covers the sole of your foot.  The plantar fascia serves a very important purpose.  It is a ligament that stretches from your heelbone to your toes like a bowstring, and helps absorb the impact of walking or running.  It also helps maintain the arch in your foot. 

If this ‘bowstring’ is overstretched by an aggressive new exercise program, small tears can form in the tendon.  These tears can become inflamed and painful, and turn even the most leisurely run into a nightmare.

Here are the two biggest causes of plantar fasciitis:

1. Too much, too fast, too soon!  Big increases in your running pace, distance or frequency can overload the plantar fascia and make for some painful feet. 
2. Bad foot mechanics.  Losing the arch in your foot, excessive pronation (walking on the inside of your foot), or having an irregular gait can all contribute to plantar fasciitis.

The good news is, plantar fasciitis is almost always fixable without drugs or surgery.  This is one of the more common injuries I see in our office, and we see exceptional results from our rehab programs.  If you've researched this condition you've probably heard horror stories about people who can't run for 6 months or even a year.  This is NOT the case in my office.  We routinely get runners back in action within 1 month.

Remember -- even though plantar fasciitis usually responds well to conservative treatment, if left untreated it will most likely worsen.  If you think you may have this condition, limit any painful activities and COME SEE ME.  With the right prescription of physiotherapy, flexibility and soft tissue therapy we can have you running the trails at Town Lake again before you know it!  

-Daniel Bockmann, DC



To read more about plantar fasciitis, click here:http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/plantar-fasciitis/DS00508

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